Anderson Takes Down Bethel with Golden Goal

The Anderson University women's soccer team welcomed the Bethel University Pilots to the AU Soccer Fields on Wednesday for a non-conference matchup. In a double overtime thriller, the Ravens secured a 2-1 victory, their first of the 2021-2022 season.

Both teams came out strong in the first seven minutes, with Anderson (1-3-1) taking two and Bethel (0-7) with three. Unfortunately, in the 10^th minute, the Ravens committed a foul inside the 18-yard box, giving the Pilots a penalty kick. Audrey Lerch of Bethel was able to convert the penalty kick and gave the Pilots a 1-0 lead over the Ravens. Anderson went on to dominate the rest of the half, the defense would not allow the Pilots to take another shot on goal, while the offense went on to record nine more shots.

Coming out of halftime trailing by one, the Ravens gave it everything they had. They continued to fire shots on goal, with the Pilots goalkeeper Corryn Berlin making a couple of spectacular saves. In the 72^nd minute, senior Corissa Horton (Fountaintown, Ind. / Triton Central) subbed into the match and wasted no time making and impact. Just nine minutes later in the 81^st minute, Taylor Fort (Pendleton, Ind. / Pendleton Heights) won the ball near the midfield, dribbled past two defenders and passed the ball to Corissa Horton who took one touch with her left foot past the inside of her defender and rocketed the ball with her right foot into the upper left corner of the net from 25 yards out, tying the game 1-1 with nine minutes left in regulation. Anderson wouldn't give up, as they continued to fire four more shots before the final whistle. The Ravens and Pilots would end regulation tied 1-1 as they headed into overtime.

For the second game in a row, the Ravens found themselves playing extra soccer. This time they hoped for a better result. The first 10 minutes of overtime saw Ravens goalkeeper Emmalee Paarlberg (Franklin, Ohio / Homeschool) make two saves to keep it a 1-1 draw. The Ravens would take three chances with one on goal being stopped by the Pilots goalkeeper. Anderson and Bethel would end the first overtime still tied with just 10 minutes of action remaining.

Even after 100 minutes of play, the Ravens still came into the second overtime with energy. Taylor Fort immediately took a shot, going just over the goal. Then, in the 105^th minute, the Ravens would earn a free kick. After a couple of passes, Taylor Fort ended up with the ball near the top of the 18-yard box. Fort the dribbled towards the left side and passed the ball out to Lauren Brown (Fort Wayne, Ind. / Homestead) who was on the left outside of the 18 and crossed it high in the air near the 6-yard box where Holly Garrett (Dayton, Ohio / Dayton Christian) backed off of her defender, jumped, and headed the ball past the goal keeper into the left side netting. With the game being in overtime, Garrett's goal was the golden goal needed to end the game and secure the Ravens first victory.

Throughout the match, the Ravens dominated on the offensive side, recording 27 shots to the Pilots 10 over the course of 105 minutes. Taylor Fort and Corissa Horton led the Ravens on shots, with each recording five. Right behind them was Holly Garrett with four. Horton and Garrett led the team with three on goal. Kaitlyn Revell (Louisville, Ky. / Assumption) and Lillie Casey (Loveland, Ohio / Goshen) had two shots. While Jessica Pulaski (Centerville, Ohio / Centerville), Taylor Baker (Springfield, Ohio / Catholic Central), Lauren Brown, Anhely Montes (Portland, Ind. / Jay County), and Rebekah Hisle (St. Joseph, Mich. / Michigan Lutheran) each had one shot. Emmalee Paarlberg made six saves against the Pilots.

Head Coach Jennifer Myhre had the following to say about Wednesday's match: "What I loved about [Wednesday] was the fight and perseverance. Despite the early PK, we kept pressing and believed the goal would come. It was a great look and take by Corissa to equalize it and give us the momentum to press on. Lauren served a smart ball across and Holly was in the right position framing the back post to head it home. This was a well-deserved team win and effort."

The Ravens will be back in action at the AU Soccer Fields on Saturday as they welcome the Belles of St. Mary's College (4-1). Kick-off is set for 1PM.